


After Knowing

by Deviant



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: Angst, Babimoore, F/M, Gen, Gen or Pre-Relationship, Season 3, The Cure, post 03x06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 23:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10977846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deviant/pseuds/Deviant
Summary: What happens when you've been a zombie so long you no longer know how to pretend to be human?  How much is a broken ankle supposed to hurt anyways?  How much does everyone else see?Is Clive going to have to remind her how to play being alive from now on?---ORLiv breaks her ankle and it's up to Clive to help keep everyone else in the dark.





	After Knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Please god let these two have emotional canon scenes.

It's not so much that Liv doesn't feel anything, just that what she does feel is muffled.  It's the difference between being hit with a baseball bat and being hit with a pool noodle.  If she didn't feel anything at all she wouldn't know when to go to the bathroom, or what it felt like squeezing the trigger on Drake, or the feeling of cold wind shoving against her. 

So she does feel, the sensations are just muted like a TV turned down way too low. 

She sees her broken ankle more than she feels it. 

"Liv." 

Clive's voice brings her back to awareness.  She turns to look at him.  The alley is full of people, cops and witnesses, a perp in the back seat of a cruiser.  The motorcycle that nearly ran her into the ground is capsized, its owner detained.  Noise pollution bleeds over from other much busier streets nearby. 

Despite the commotion the geriatric witness next to Clive only has eyes for Liv.   

Her partner's dark, brown eyes flash around the scene, his mouth parted the way he does when he's working out what to say.  A nod of his head tells her to follow his gaze and she does.  Detective Cavanaugh stands in conversation with some other unis, but his eyes flicker over to her. 

 _Great._  

How much is a broken ankle supposed to hurt again?  Can anyone even tell it's broken?  Maybe she can say it's only sprained. 

Clive crosses the distance to her, his leather jacket snug as he crosses his arms.  "We need to get you out of here," he says. 

"Yeah, maybe I can leave now before anyone knows-" 

She tries to take a step to the side but she's pulled into Clive. His hand encircles her arm.  If she wasn't a sight before she is now with her body pressed against his and the wind blowing her skirt around him, stark white contrasting with the dark colors he's sporting.  "They know, " he whispers. 

He steps back from her and it probably looks like she just fell into him and he helped her stay vertical. 

It's a catch 82.  If she doesn't pretend to be in pain she's a freak.  If she pretends to be in pain she draws attention to herself and her previous lack of pain.  Goddamn zombie hurdles. 

She's about to settle on faking mild discomfort and limping to Clive's car when she's snatched off the ground.  Her feet fly out from under her and it takes her a moment to realize that she's in Clive's arms being held very much bridal style. 

She pushes against him.  "Clive, I'm fine." 

"Play along," he says, voice gruff.  His eyes move to look at Cavanaugh but he manages to stop himself.  A small grimace mars his face as he hikes her up a little.  Because she can feel she _does_  feel.  Feels his chest expand with his lungs, feels the heat through his jacket, feels his hand on her bare thighs because modesty is hardly a priority for the wind and her skirt.  She imagines it for a second; his large, dark hand spread out against her pale thighs. 

She knows it doesn't mean anything to him but she's still embarrassed.  Play along he says so she does.  She wraps her arms around his neck and relaxes into him.    

Her disease, her secret – it takes a toll on everyone who knows.  It took its toll on Clive too.  Took Dale from him and destroyed his case.  Made him question humanity.  Now he's carrying her away from crime scenes and reminding her to pretend to be human because she's apparently forgotten how. 

Every time she feels relieved that he knows it's followed by guilt. 

He lets out a small grunt. 

She closes her eyes and breathes in the smell of his cologne, something mild yet deep.  She feels her body shift against him, his hand sliding down her thighs as he hikes her up once again. 

"You okay?" he whispers to her. 

This is Clive.  Warm body and dark skin and steady personality –her opposite in most ways.  This is the man who gave her life meaning after her undeath.  The man who saved Major when she couldn't.  The man she killed Drake for.  

And he's alive. 

She wants to grab at his body harder and feel him deeper.  She imagines pushing his leather jacket aside and pressing her chest against his and hoping that she can feel his heartbeat through the thin layer of her dress.  Or maybe she could let go of him a little, slide down him a little, and feel him pull her back up again with his fingers digging into her skin. 

 _Clive is alive,_  she thinks.  If she had laughed it would have turned into a choked cry. 

Clive stops.  She doesn't move to let go though and he doesn't move to put her down.  The wind blows at her skirt again but it doesn't matter because he's carried her out of view of anyone and her panties being bared is the least of her worries.  Ravi's going to have to set her ankle.  She'll need to wear something for a respectable amount of time to deflect suspicion.  Come up with some sort of story in case Cavanaugh brings it up, which he will because he's an ass. 

Clive is still holding her. 

She's thin but even thin zombies get heavy after a while.  Do his arms burn with the weight of her? 

She shifts against him and lets him decide if she's asking to be let down or stay held.  There's a moment where he doesn't move and she wonders if he'll hold her forever.  Maybe this is how it's going to be.  Maybe the part of her that's been holding it together since she missed out on the cure is going to break right here in his arms and he's going to hold her the whole time through.  Maybe she's going to sob into his leather jacket. 

Those pieces that are about to break apart stay firmly in place as she slides down his body.  Her feet find a way under her much to her amazement.  It must be an accident when his hand slides up her skirt as he sets her down.  Could she just lean against him a little longer?  Would that be alright? 

She waits for the space between them.  There's a moment when his arms move and she's certain he's about to take a step back but instead he wraps them around her.  There it is.  She's pulled in – hard.  She holds her breath and searches for some kind of beating against her chest.  His cologne fills her nose when she can't hold her breath any longer and she groans into him. 

She's in agony but it has nothing to do with her shattered ankle. 

Clive is alive and Liv is undead. 

She feels.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism and any feedback always welcome!  
> (If you're a Babimoore shipper our ship is small but it's cute XD )


End file.
